2018 Partridge Measures
28 August 2018 - Published by Paul Stephens
In the demonstration site “Isabella Polder” 8,6% is already enhanced with existing and new high-quality wildlife friendly habitats. Different mixtures provide a diverse habitat that offers everything a partridge needs: breeding grounds in the spring, food (insects) for the chicks and food (grains and leaves) and cover in the winter.
The following mixtures have been sown at this site.
- Wild bird seed mixtures: 18 ha. Providing winter feeding, summer feeding as well as breeding grounds and consists of buckwheat, flax, alfalfa, sunflower, oats, fodder radish, rye, chicory, cabbage, honey clover, triticale, large teasel. Every year, 50% is mowed and 50% is re-seeded. These multi-annual flower blocks offer everything a partridge needs.
- Floristically enhanced grass margins: 6,5 ha. Grass strip consisting of a grass / flower mixture that is mown after 15 July.
- Uncut grass margins: 16,5 ha. The strip is partly cut after 15 August. The uncut part provides coverage in the winter.
- Unharvested cereals: 8 ha. Cereals that are not harvested, but remain until 31 March as winter food for the farmland birds
Partridge Measures in Ramskapelle Polder (2018)
In the demonstration site “Ramskapelle” 14,8 % is already enhanced with existing and new high-quality wildlife friendly habitats. Different mixtures provide a diverse habitat that offers everything a partridge needs: breeding grounds in the spring, food (insects) for the chicks and food (grains and leaves) and cover in the winter
The following mixtures have been sown at this site.
- Wild bird seed mixtures: 19,82 ha. Providing winterfeeding, summer feeding as well as breeding grounds and consists ofbuckwheat, flax, alfalfa, sunflower, oats, fodder radish, rye, chicory, cabbage, honey clover, triticale, large teasel. Every year, 50% is mowed and 50% is re-seeded. These multi-annual flower blocks offer everything a partridge needs.
- Floristically enhanced grass margins: 4 ha. Grass strip consisting of a grass / flower mixture that is mown after 15 July.
- Uncut grass margins: 45 ha. The strip is partly cut after 15 August. The uncut part provides -coverage in the winter.
- Unharvested cereals: 4 ha. Cereals that are not harvested, but remain until 31 March as winter food for the farmland birds.
- Cut grass margins: 1,14 ha . Grass margins cut after 15 June
- Meadow measurements: 3,8 ha. Pasture with late mowing date so that chicks can grow undisturbed
- Beetle bank: 0,15 ha. A berm planted with bunch grasses to provide overwintering habitat for predatory ground beetles and other insects as feeding for the chicks.
